Isolation 004
The next couple of days were a complete blur. Yugi tried to talk with both the pharaoh and the young dancer. Unfortunately, that was not proving to be an easy task. For one, the young girl has not been seen by anyone. Yugi didn’t see her normally walking to school or even at school itself. When he tried asking around, the same answer came from everybody. Nobody has seen her. The spirit was the same. He was hardly around leaving Yugi in the dark regarding to his own thoughts. Yugi knew nothing was going to be the same, not unless he got the young dancer and the nameless pharaoh to work out their problems.
Yugi was currently sitting with his friends at the rundown building. Joey and Tristan were talking about the latest Duel Monster cards while Serenity sat staring out into the unknown. Even Joey’s sister who always hung with the girl didn’t have a clue on where the young dancer could be.
Unknown to everyone, though, the young dancer wasn’t far. The clouds were gathering. The wind was blowing the waves against the shore. The young dancer walked along the boardwalk with her arms wrapped around herself. Her face was stained with tears while her eyes held more. Each morning, Tea tried to walk out the door and head to school, but each stop reminded her who was waiting outside or at least in the classroom.
Tea held her head down and slowly closed her eyes, letting a few more tears splash against the ground. It hurt so much on how strong her feelings were for the nameless pharaoh. She recalls so many close moments during Battle City where she could have lost him forever: stepping up onto the platform to protect Joey and Mai, wanting to continue the tournament with his battle against Kaiba, stepping into the darkness to help Bakura. Tea shook her head. She didn’t want to see him duel again. Even if a single duel would be completely harmless, it would never stay that way. The duels always ended with some type of cost which always put him in danger. It would hurt too much with holding to that attachment, that feeling, if he would disappear. She just knew that she couldn’t, couldn’t allow it anymore. She couldn’t love him anymore.
The young dancer continued walking, not noticing that she was heading down an alley when three men stopped her, one in front and two in back. All three men were smirking and chuckling such devilish laughs. Tea watched as they slowly approached her. The young dancer quickly tried running away, but one of the men grabbed her and threw her against the wall. Her elbow scraped against it as she slid down. One of the other men came forward and kicked her hard against her ribs. She gasped loudly as she fell upon her side banging her head against the floor. The last man grabbed her arms and pulled her around. She tried clawing at his hands, but he used his free hand to smack her across the face.
Tea could only fathom the dark thoughts that were going through these men as she was yanked in one direction and then the other before coming hard against the wall of the building once more. She tried screaming, but one of the men clamped her mouth shut while another ripped her shirt straight down the middle. A smothered gasp escaped her lips as she felt the last man trace his dirty callous hands up her inner thigh, pushing against the white material beneath her yellow skirt. He chuckled darkly as he stood and started to undo the buttons of jeans.
Once more, the young dancer tried moving by kicking her legs and clawing her hands as the men ravaged her body. She was smacked once more causing her head to bang against the brinks of the building. Blood was seeping out of her busted lip. She wanted to scream, but she was helpless as one man held her arms down while the other gripped her hips, grinding them hard against the cement of the alley.
The last man was smiling a devilish smile as he dropped to his knees. His hands were touching her legs. Tea’s eyes were wide with fright as she knew what the man’s intention was. Before it could happen, though, a voice echoed throughout the alley stopping everything. “Tea! Get away from her.” It was Mokuba and his older brother, Seto Kaiba. Upon seeing them, the three man quickly ran out of the alley.
Mokuba dropped by Tea. He glanced from the girl to his brother, worry in his eyes. “She needs to get to a hospital,” stated Mokuba as his older brother dropped to one knee beside him.
“Where is Yugi,” asked Seto Kaiba. He glanced around the area trying to find the tri-color boy and his normal group of friends.
“Rundown… building. Yugi….” The girl’s words were choppy as she strained to open her eyes. Mokuba looked back at his older brother before Seto nodded. Quickly, Mokuba stood and ran out of the alley.
Yugi glanced up towards the sky. The clouds were building, and the scent of rain was upon the wind. Serenity glanced over at Yugi and gave him a heartbreaking smile. He knew what she was thinking. Hell, everyone was worried. Yugi glanced over to corner of rubble rocks that have fallen. The nameless pharaoh sat upon one of the stones with one leg bent and the other straight. He was resting upon one of his elbows as he glanced over the horizon of the city below.
Joey was starting to pack up his cards as Serenity came to stand beside him. Tristan was stretching his arms as he stood from his spot. Everyone was getting ready to head home for the evening when Mokuba came running into the scene, hands on his knees as he tried to gather his breath.
“Yugi,” breathed Mokuba. “Tea… She’s hurt.”
“Hurt? How?” questioned Yugi. His eyes were full of panic as he glanced over at the spirit. He was standing, staring with a strange fear in his eyes with his hands in tight fists. Yugi wasn’t given a chance as the spirit quickly took over. “Take me to her.” He demanded.
Everyone quickly followed Mokuba. Serenity gasped as the site came into view. Seto Kaiba was still kneeling beside the young dancer. “What happened to her?” asked Serenity as she raised her to hands to her mouth.
“She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. We were just lucky to be in the area,” replied Mokuba as he walked over to stand next to his brother.
Yami walked over and knelt but not before shrugging the leather jacket off and covering the young girl. Tea opened her eyes slowly and stared at the pharaoh for a few seconds before closing them. “She will be fine. A few scrapes and bruises, but they will heal,” stated Seto Kaiba as he took a stand.
Yami nodded, “Thank you, Kaiba. I will make sure she gets home.”
Kaiba quickly turned and began walking away, but not before addressing the pharaoh. “I am hosting another tournament. I do not plan to take part in this one, but since you are the King of Games, you will be one of the final contestants.”
Yami shrugged. “We will see about that.”
“What do you mean?” demanded the older brother. “You hold a title, a title which many want. You will duel.”
Yami chuckled as he lifted the unconscious girl into his arms. “As I said, we will see. I have no plans as of now of participating in anything.” With that said, the pharaoh started walking in different direction than the Kaiba brothers.
Yami was about three blocks away when the voice of the young dancer caused him to stop. “You can put me down.” Her voice was quiet as she spoke out into the empty streets.
Yami shook his head, “No. I plan to see that you make it home safely.”
Tea started to squirm in the pharaoh’s arm causing his grip to slack. “Yami, put me down, now!”
The girl continued to fidget. The pharaoh continued to tighten his grip as he walked down the street. He disappeared down one of the alleys and leaned his back up against the wall before growling down at the young dancer. “Damn it, Tea. You are hurt. I plan to see you home and taken care of.”
SLAP
The young dancer was holding her hand back as a red mark appeared upon the pharaoh’s face. With the surprise movement, the girl dropped down to her own feet and took a few steps back, pulling the jacket tighter around her small frame. “Nothing happened to me that I will not recover from. Go home, Yami. I don’t need you.”
“Damn it, Tea,” cursed Yami. “I have no fucking idea what has gotten into you, but this is causing a fucking rift between everyone.” The pharaoh brought his hand up to his face and turned away never noticing how the young dancer wrapped her arms around herself and turned putting her back towards him.
“You just don’t get it.” Her voice was soft and extremely flat as she glanced up into the developing grey clouds.
Turning slightly, he glanced at the young girl. “Get what,” he asked a bit too sharply. He saw her jump and regretted the tone, but he needed to know.
Tea shrugged and dropped her arms for a second before rewrapping them once more around her small body. A small chuckle escaped her lips, but it wasn’t a happy sound. “I guess there is nothing to explain. You said it yourself. Remember?”
“Remember what?” The young man turned to face her all the way, no expression upon his face as he brought his arms across his chest.
“Weren’t you the one who said attachments were not a good idea, that you need to harden your heart? Maybe that is what I am trying to do. I need to forget, forget how you make me feel, forget what we shared. It will help especially with what could happen. It might not help now, but in the long terms, I think it will.” Her voice didn’t hold any emotion except maybe some bitterness and coldness to each word she spoke.
Yami released a deep sigh as his hands dropped to his side. He glanced up into the sky before slowly turning and walking the opposite direction. “Fine. If that is how you feel, then fuck it. My feelings will remain the same. I won’t regret sleeping with you, and I won’t harden my heart because of what I said.”
The pharaoh walked only a few steps away. His back was to the young dancer. However, she noticed the switch as the spirit disappeared and his partner, his other half stood in his spot. “I don’t know what you are thinking, but from traveling with the spirit, I have known this. He is severely protective of his friends, especially ones that have capture his heart. He loves you, Tea. I don’t know what you are trying to do, but whatever it is, you are not only hurting yourself. You are hurting him, too.”
The young dancer could only watch as the young duelist placed his hands into the pockets of his pants and began walking away. The sound of thunder echoed in the distance as the clouds of the incoming storm continue to develop overhead.